SAN FRANCISCO: Large network computer maker Sun Microsystems Inc. launched on
Tuesday a server computer to fill out the top of its midrange server line and
compete with IBM.
The San Francisco, California-based company said the Sun Fire 12k server
would compete against IBM's Regatta server, which was launched about six months
ago. It targets companies that want high-end computers for less money, Sun said.
Sun is fighting International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co.
for market share in sales of large computer servers that run on the popular Unix
operating system. Tuesday's launch follows IBM's announcement on Monday of its
p670 midrange server line.
Competition for new sales has heated up as companies hurt by the economic
downturn have frozen or cut technology spending.
Sun's 12k product, code named "Starkitty", priced between $599,000
and $1 million, is available immediately. Servers that cost more than $1 million
are generally termed as high-end systems while those costing between $100,000
and $1 million are often known as midrange servers.
"In the midrange market we had a weakness because there was too big a
gap between our midrange and high-end offerings," said Sun's Chief
Competitive Officer Shahin Khan.
The 12k server will run on 52 processors but can be upgraded to the same
level as the company's top-of-the-line 15k server which has 106 central
processing units, Sun said.